expectations – leadership dots

leadership dot #4952: clarify

May 18, 2026May 15, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

The best time to outline expectations and clarify responsibilities is when there is no emotion involved. This usually occurs when no particular situation is at hand, and you can discuss in generalities and ideal scenarios rather than when a conflict is brewing.

It’s why it is wise to set ground rules for meetings, outline expectations with a timeline during onboarding, and clarify responsibilities at the beginning of a project. People tend to be more rational and reasonable when they aren’t staring down a deadline or having a disagreement about direction.

This part of the process is often overlooked, with optimistic people believing that everything will work out and things will proceed as planned. Unfortunately, it is rarely the case. Whether setting a schedule for who does the dishes or pays the bills, or being clear about what benchmarks must be met on a project, first clarify those expectations before anything else. Agreeing early is much easier and less time-consuming than disagreeing later.

leadership dot #4852: expecting

January 30, 2026January 29, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

My friend has always found solace in the fact that everything has a beginning, a middle, and an end. It sounds obvious, but few people really internalize what that means. We often feel sadness or angst when something ends, rather than acknowledging it as a natural consequence of each cycle.

Rather than lamenting the need to sell your house and move into independent living, recognize it as a natural step toward the end of life
Instead of expecting to work at one place for a career, be comfortable knowing your service there has a term
Rather than foregoing social vulnerability, accept that friendships and relationships may fade as life and circumstances evolve
Instead of being sad about someone leaving a position, moving, or going off to school, consider it an expected and even joyful outcome
Rather than missing out on all the love of a pet, acknowledge upfront that if you purchase or adopt one, you will likely outlive it and need to say goodbye
Instead of fretting about the cold weather, remember that each season naturally concludes

Expecting the end can go a long way toward helping you accept it.

leadership dot #4819: recruits

December 12, 2025December 10, 2025by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

The latest college football signings show that bigger isn’t always better.

The top-ranked recruit in the country (Jared Curtis) came from Nashville Christian, a school with fewer than 1000 students from 6 weeks to 12th grade. The number three recruit (Kelsean Henderson) came from the Legacy school, with fewer than 500 students, and number five (Zion Elee) hails from St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, with only 240 total students.

None came from big schools, nor did they elect to attend the traditional powerhouses for college football. These recruits believe that it’s possible to be successful at non-legacy schools and are attending Vanderbilt, Houston, and Maryland, all close to home. Only Vanderbilt was in the Top 25 last year. (It’s quite the difference from 2020, when seven of the country’s top ten recruits signed with either Ohio State or Alabama.)

It’s possible to achieve success from wherever you start. Circumstances don’t need to hold you back, and you don’t have an obligation to follow what has been done in the past. Carve your own path from where it begins to where you choose it to lead.

leadership dot #4783: done

November 6, 2025November 5, 2025by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

When a major event concludes, it’s easy for people to believe that the work is finished. This is not the case.

After the election, the voting may be over, but the work is not. I spent yesterday being driven all.around.the.city in pursuit of collecting campaign signs. It’s not glamorous, but it’s an important step toward wrapping up the work. I wouldn’t have felt right if I hadn’t done it.

And now, we’ll have a “Lessons Learned” meeting and I’ll compile a full report — even though it’s unlikely that the District will pursue another bond referendum anytime soon. Maybe it can help other jurisdictions. Maybe the information will serve as a reference for me or someone else on a similar project. Maybe it will sit on the shelf and never be read by anyone but me, but I know it’s the last step in the process.

If you’re involved in a project — large or small, solo or a group effort — ensure that your plan for “completion” really does go all the way to the finish line. It’s not done until the clean-up, evaluation, and thank-you notes are finished.

Clean up from campaign signs. The bond received 56.8% of the vote — a majority, but 60% is required by the state so it failed.

leadership dot #4780: round up

November 3, 2025November 2, 2025by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

When I was at the store, I was asked whether I wanted to “round up” my purchase to the nearest dollar. It’s a powerful tactic because you feel like a cheapskate if you say no, but it does make me wonder about the logistics of all that extra collection.

When I rounded up at the National Park store, they were clear that every dollar stayed within the local park to supplement their normal funding. I was happy to contribute my cents.

But at the chain store, it went to “help food banks.” Of course, that is a noble cause given the recent suspension of SNAP funds, but does that mean the corporation gets a hefty write-off when they give a check with all of our contributions? Do they match the customers’ donations? Does the money stay local, and when/how is it distributed to them? I had more questions than answers about my 48 cent variance.

If you’re helping promote or seeking donations to a cause, be clear about the process surrounding it. It’s one thing to make it easy to give; another to make people feel good about doing so.

leadership dot #4745: astute

September 29, 2025September 26, 2025by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

One of the most widely prescribed medicines today was made possible, in part, because two observant scientists saw potential in something that most others would have dismissed.

In 1928, Bacteriologist Alexander Fleming returned from vacation to find one of his samples had been contaminated by a blue-green mold. He noticed that the bacteria were not growing where the mold was, and named this mold Penicillin.

Fleming did not have the staff or chemistry training to take his experiment further, but in 1940, Howard Florey continued Fleming’s work and was able to grow a limited number of penicillin cultures. Supplies were very limited until a lab assistant saw a cantaloupe in a grocery store that was covered with “a pretty, golden mold,” which yielded 200 times the amount of penicillin previously available.

Penicillin has saved thousands of lives, and it came to be thanks to recognizing the benefits of a contaminated sample and a lab assistant’s melon. Both scientists were curious and astute — being open to answers that came from anywhere, not just where they expected. May you be receptive to seeing the possibilities that present themselves to you.

leadership dots #4733: overpromised

September 17, 2025September 16, 2025by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

In a fictional high school on a television show, a candidate ran for Junior Class President, promising that the class trip would be to Hawaii. On that issue alone, she won the election, but, of course, no such trip materialized.

As we head into off-year elections for local races, I hear the equivalent of ‘Hawaii’ in actual campaign promises, but overpromising also occurs outside the political arena. Managers and coaches claim they will “win it all” this year. Salespeople boast that they will set new sales records. Construction workers promise that the work will be done in “two weeks,” when that deadline is laughable.

Going to Hawaii sounds wonderful, but believing it is nonsensical. Stick with those who promise something they can actually deliver.

leadership dot #4732: unaddressed

September 16, 2025September 15, 2025by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I gave my puppy a lick-mat to entertain her for a few blissful moments. When she was finished eating the peanut butter, she decided that the mat itself would be tasty and proceeded to chew off a piece. Fortunately, I caught her, removed the mat, and thought no more of it.

Fast forward a few weeks. I gave her a new mat, thinking the chewing was a one-time problem or that she had grown out of the phase, only this time, I was not as diligent a monitor. As a result, a quarter of the mat had been ingested.

Shame on me.

It reminds me of the hopeful (delusional?) behavior of some supervisors who see bad behavior from their employees, do nothing to correct it, put them in a similar situation, and then are surprised when the poor outcome is the same. Of course, the puppy was going to eat the mat. Of course, the employee who did sloppy work is going to repeat it.

People hesitate to provide course-correcting feedback, but without it, the behavior stays the same, even if it’s bad. Don’t be foolish enough to think things will improve on their own.

Original destruction and the newest version.

leadership dot #4669: scoot

July 8, 2025July 7, 2025by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

The Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis is undergoing a “paint investigation,” where conservators are testing painted-over areas to reveal the original work. “Although previous restorations were sensitive to the original decorating scheme, each iteration deviated further from historic precedent,” they wrote.

This gradual variation occurs with more than paint. It reminded me of Danny Meyer’s salt shaker analogy (dot #92), where the salt shaker is set at a precise location at each of his restaurant tables, but eventually “scoots” to another place after time. He recommends utilizing “constant, gentle pressure” to keep the item as close to the original placement as possible.

I’ve used this analogy countless times when talking about supervision. You need to identify the expectations and then address it when behavior “scoots” from that desired state. Each transgression is an iteration that moves further from the center, and you don’t want to wait and have many layers of deviations.

A slight variation in paint color, a few minutes late to work, and a little bit of slacking all seem harmless until the pattern accumulates. Conduct your own “investigation” and identify the ideal, then be vigilant in monitoring the small movements away from that point.

leadership dot #4668: punch card

July 7, 2025July 4, 2025by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

In a post on X, Leah Pierson shared that her friends made a pact to say “no” to more things. They created a punch card, and when someone set boundaries for 10 things, the other friends would buy them an ice cream. “In a pilot study, we found participants both said no to more things and got more free ice cream, she wrote.” I love this idea!

It is so easy to feel guilt or obligation that leads us to agree to do things that we don’t want to do or maybe shouldn’t even do. Tasks that fall outside our responsibilities. Donation requests that use social pressure to get us to contribute. Outings that don’t excite us. Taking on extra commitments when our plates are already full. We say “yes” to go along, be a good sport, not make waves, or because we’re too timid to speak up. Creating a punch card with peer accountability, tangible tracking, and a delicious reward is a great way to cause us to pause and consider an intentional response.

Maybe you can make a punch card with your friends or colleagues — or even reward yourself for establishing parameters to meet your needs. I see more ice cream in your future!